Month: January 2024

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged higher this week, ending a nine-week slide that gave prospective homebuyers some breathing room after home loan borrowing soared to the highest level in more than two decades. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage inched up to

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The race for the White House officially begins in less than two weeks. And despite some prolonged jockeying over the election calendar, the long primary season will once again begin in Iowa with a caucus process that has served as the lead-off presidential voting since the 1970s.

By TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An armed unmanned surface vessel launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen got within a “couple of miles” of U.S. Navy and commercial vessels in the Red Sea before detonating on Thursday, just hours after the White House and a host of partner nations issued a final warning to the

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Thursday pressed to have special counsel Jack Smith’s team held in contempt, saying the prosecutors had taken steps to advance the 2020 election interference case against him in violation of a judge’s order last month that

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — The Kia EV9 large electric SUV won the 2024 North American Utility of the Year award, while the Toyota Prius hybrid took the top car honors, and Ford’s Super Duty pickup won the truck award. The honors, announced Thursday at a meeting of the Automotive Press Association in Detroit, are often

By The Associated Press Russia’s Defense Ministry says air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian air-launched missiles over the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula. The report Thursday comes as both sides in the war continue long-range strikes while their front-line forces remain largely deadlocked. On Wednesday night, officials said Russia fired two S-300 missiles at central Kharkiv, Ukraine’s

By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press Police in New Jersey are hunting for the killer of a Muslim leader who was shot outside his mosque. They’re offering a cash reward and reiterating they don’t think bias played a role in the violence. The pre-dawn killing of imam Hassan Sharif as he prepared to open the Masjid

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears is shooting down rumors of a new album, vowing to “never return to the music industry.” At the same time, Spears noted in Wednesday’s Instagram post, she’s still writing music — just for other people. “When I write, I write for fun or I write for other people !!!”

By HARAJAH NALWADDA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A well-known gay rights activist in Uganda who was stabbed by unknown assailants this week is attributing the attack to what he describes as a growing intolerance of the LGBTQ+ community fueled by politicians. Steven Kabuye says the climate of intolerance is being worsened by politicians

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Sports Writer The NCAA and ESPN have agreed to a $920 million, eight-year deal that will give the network exclusive rights to 40 championships, including the Division I women’s basketball tournament. The women’s side of March Madness has been growing in popularity and the association has been accused of

LANETT, Ala. (AP) — A Georgia sheriff’s deputy was fatally injured when he was stuck by another law enforcement vehicle during a police chase. The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office said Deputy Sheriff Eric Minix died early Thursday morning. Georgia law enforcement were chasing a stolen vehicle, and the pursuit continued into Alabama where the fatal

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The German government is watering down cost-saving plans that have infuriated farmers. It announced on Thursday that it will give up a proposal to scrap an exemption from car tax for farming vehicles and will stagger cuts to tax breaks for diesel used in agriculture. The cuts

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press Passengers on Japan Airlines Flight 516 were buckled up and ready to land at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport as their pilot made a final approach. “Cleared to land,” the pilot repeated after receiving an instruction from air traffic control to put the jet down on a specific runway. About two minutes

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two consultants hired to analyze new state legislative boundary lines in Wisconsin after the state’s high court tossed the current Republican-drawn maps will be paid up to $100,000 each. Under the terms of the contracts made public Thursday, each consultant will be paid an hourly rate

By FADI TAWIL and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Beirut for the funeral of Saleh Arouri, top commander of militant Palestinian group Hamas, who was killed earlier this week in an apparent Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital. Draped in Palestinian and Hamas flags,

By TERRY TANG Associated Press Sam Song Li only got his SAG-AFTRA card two years ago. Now, he is acting opposite Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh in an all-Asian cast in the new Netflix series, “The Brothers Sun.” Dropping Thursday, the crime drama and comedy hybrid follows the scions of a Taiwanese triad leader. The show

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press PERRY, Iowa (AP) — A 17-year-old opened fire at a small-town Iowa high school before classes resumed on the first day after the winter break, killing a sixth-grader and wounding five others Thursday as students barricaded in offices, ducked into classrooms and fled in panic. The suspect,

By JON GAMBRELL and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Thursday for two suicide bombings targeting a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike, the worst militant attack to strike Iran in decades as the wider Middle East remains on

PRAGUE (AP) — Hundreds of students and others have marched in silence in the Czech capital to honor the victims of the country’s worst mass killing two weeks ago that left 14 dead. They gathered at an impromptu memorial in front of Prague’s Charles University headquarters where thousands came to light candles after the Dec 21 shooting.

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The politician favored to become Britain’s next prime minister has kicked off an election year by accusing the governing Conservatives of leading the country into decline and despair. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said Thursday that a Labour government would deliver “Project Hope” after 14 years of

By GIADA ZAMPANO and PAOLO SANTALUCIA Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has told her European Union partners that curbing migration flows from African countries has less to do with offers of charity than strong partnerships coupled with strategic investments in those nations. Meloni told reporters at a year-end news conference that

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — The new year on the PGA Tour feels a lot like the old one. There are questions about a fractured landscape and more money than ever. LIV Golf is gearing up for another season while fans wonder who will be the next player to get